Partial support is requested to host the 26th Annual Meeting of the North American Section of the International Society for Heart Research (ISHR). The Conference will be held Cancun, Mexico in May 1-5 of 2004. The specific aims of the Conference are to: 1) review progress in the cardiovascular area, by inviting scientists involved in significant recent research to present their results, and by soliciting free papers (abstracts) reporting on these topics; 2) facilitate interaction and collaboration between different laboratories engaged in cardiovascular research, and between basic scientists and clinicians with related interests; 3) encourage new research in the field of cardiovascular sciences; 4) recruit young and emerging scientists into the cardiovascular field; 5) incorporate a representative chapter from Mexico's basic and clinical scientists into the North American Section of the ISHR and; 6) promote Conference attendance by women and minority scientists. Aims 4 and 5 will be facilitated by the inclusion of a contingent of Mexico's clinician scientists that will attend their annual meeting on atherosclerosis immediately prior to the Conference and by the use of significant amounts of moneys for the purpose of facilitating attendance of young scientists through travel awards. Topics include, but are not limited to myocardial regeneration, aldosterone and heart failure, arrythmias and sudden cardiac death, gender differences in cardiovascular disease, new insights into nonischemic cardiomyopathies, myocardial depressant factor, coronary circulation and ischemia, receptor function and signaling, angiogenesis, inflammation, atherosclerosis, preconditioning, apoptosis and oxidative stress, obesity, diabetes and hypertension. Partial support is requested to defray travel costs of invited participants, and to permit a registration fee low enough to encourage participation by junior faculty, postdoctoral fellows and students.